TELEVISION REVIEW

TELEVISION REVIEW; The Networks Haven't Forgotten Pearl Harbor, Either

By JULIE SALAMON

Published: May 26, 2001

The Pearl Harbor special on ABC tonight at 10 closes with the image of an oil drop bubbling in the placid water above the U.S.S. Arizona, sunk 60 years ago during the bombing, with 900 men entombed inside. ''A drop rises to the surface about every 20 seconds, sad and spooky, like a message floating up from an underwater grave,'' says David Brinkley, the program's narrator.

In the Pearl Harbor special on NBC tomorrow night at 9, the drop of oil is treated ominously, not poetically. The Arizona, leaking a quart of oil a day, is a possible ecological disaster, we are told.

It's hard to imagine a drop of oil -- or any piece of Pearl Harbor -- that isn't under camera scrutiny this weekend. This television outpouring, months away from Dec. 7, the actual anniversary of the Japanese attack, has something to do with Memorial Day and everything to do with yesterday's opening of ''Pearl Harbor,'' a movie that takes itself so seriously that it's considerably longer than the actual bombing was.

The hosts of these network programs are civilians (Mr. Brinkley and Tom Brokaw), making their introductions from the decks of warships. Over on MSNBC, Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf felt secure enough to conduct this cable channel's Pearl Harbor seminar on Thursday indoors, in a comfortable room that conformed to cable's more modest budgets. (An American flag did hang conspicuously in a corner.)

Naturally, the History Channel had lots to offer to those curious to compare fiction and reality: ''Special Presentation: Unsung Heroes of Pearl Harbor,'' tonight at 8; ''Tora, Tora, Tora: The Real Story of Pearl Harbor,'' tonight at 9 and next Saturday at noon; and ''History vs. Hollywood: Pearl Harbor,'' tomorrow at 8 a.m. and Friday at 9 p.m. and next Saturday at 11 a.m.

These documentaries offer valuable, rudimentary lessons about this terrible, exciting moment in history whose exotic locale has always given it a weird romantic spin. Who can forget Burt Lancaster embracing Deborah Kerr in the surf in ''From Here to Eternity,'' a film whose rentals should be skyrocketing during this weekend of Pearl Harbor fever. The television histories put the surprise attack in the context of Hula dancers and boyish sailors who -- until the bombs fell -- regarded their tour of duty in Hawaii as a lucky break. ''We have it made,'' said one, speaking not just of the lush scenery but also of the surrounding ocean, which made the island paradise seem so safe.

ABC's one-hour documentary, ''Pearl Harbor: Two Hours That Changed the World,'' was originally broadcast 10 years ago with NHK Japanese Television. The joint venture was striking then, because it provided Japanese film of the invasion and -- just as important -- the Japanese perspective. Elderly Japanese men say they remember feeling cheerful and purposeful as they set out on their secret mission, from which they didn't expect to return. One of them, a flier, says that before taking off he carefully put his belongings in order and wrote on his scarf: ''I will triumph with dignity and honor.''

Though providing the former enemy's point of view is no longer a new idea, the ABC News project holds up very well. Sharply produced and edited, it provides a crisp overview of Pearl Harbor's components: diplomacy and espionage, and the military and human factors. In his no-nonsense style of narration, Mr. Brinkley clearly threads the story together. ''What were we doing in Pearl Harbor anyway?'' he asks, so the question can be answered.

NBC decided to put a journalistic spin on history with its presentation of ''Pearl Harbor: Legacy of Attack,'' produced by National Geographic Channel (and also to be shown on the National Geographic Channel). In this documentary, the underwater explorer Robert Ballard -- well known for his Titanic and Bismarck expeditions -- tries to find a missing Japanese ''midget'' submarine.

This ambitious documentary cuts back and forth between the story of Pearl Harbor, Mr. Ballard's attempt to find the submarine and the recollections of veterans as they visit Pearl Harbor. It also raises the threat of ecological disaster. That's a lot of ground and water to cover -- possibly too much. The subtle excitement of Mr. Ballard's underwater discoveries is diminished by the powerful historic events, whose presentation is disjointed by the interruptions. The ecological aspect, also interesting, isn't explored and dangles like a headline without a story.

Still, these documentaries have a worthy and serious intent, advising a new generation that the bombing of Pearl Harbor wasn't simply a bunch of cool special effects. They convey the shock and terror on the American side, and the sense of duty and exhilaration on the part of the Japanese, and the amazing eloquence mustered by ordinary people to describe extraordinary events. ''That was the hottest breath of air we ever breathed,'' says one man speaking of what it was like to jump into water that had been turned into a furnace by burning oil. Old men weep as they recall the horror of what happened to them when they were young.

PEARL HARBOR:

LEGACY OF ATTACK

NBC, tomorrow night at 9

PEARL HARBOR:

TWO HOURS THAT CHANGED THE WORLD

ABC, tonight at 10

Photo: A Japanese Kaiga aircraft being pulled from the waters in ''Tora, Tora, Tora: The Real Story of Pearl Harbor'' on the History Channel tonight. (Donald Goldstein/''The Way It Was'')